


The Claws That Catch

by SilenceIsGolden15



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo 2k18 [19]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Blood and Gore, Broken Bones, Gen, Hostage Situations, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Knives, Prompt: Hand stomp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 13:15:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16556447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceIsGolden15/pseuds/SilenceIsGolden15
Summary: What if Sendak's attempted takeover of the Castle hadn't gone so smoothly?





	The Claws That Catch

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I realize this is my third upload today and yes I realize I'm doing way too much but IM ON A ROLL BABY

Keith stretched for his bayard, straining his shoulder and his elbow and his wrist and his fingers, straining everything to try and touch the weapon lying just a few inches out of reach. 

Their plan hadn’t worked. It had practically imploded in their faces, as a matter of fact. Lance was still unconscious, as were Allura and Pidge, crumpled against opposite walls where Sendak had thrown them. Shiro was lying dazed on his side, hands bound behind him, hair standing on end from the shocks delivered by Sendak’s prosthetic.

Keith was the only one left and Sendak loomed over him, golden eyes glinting with amusement as he watched him reach for his bayard. 

Sendak stepped forward. Keith peered at him over his shoulder, lying on his stomach and reaching out his right hand, and barely caught the flash of fangs before Sendak’s boot came down on his hand. 

His breath caught in his throat. The Galra wasn’t yet applying pressure, but he could feel the tread of his boot through his glove. Damnit, his bayard was  _ right there. _

“The Paladins of Voltron,” Sendak growled, mocking, slowly beginning to apply pressure onto Keith’s hand. “Not nearly as difficult to apprehend as the legends had you believing, hm?”

Keith was too busy wincing at the pinpricks of pain to answer. Sendak chuckled.

“Emperor Zarkon will be most pleased to have all five of the Lions, as well as the Altean Princess and the Champion.”

The pressure increased, and increased, and increased, until finally there was a sharp  _ crack  _ and Keith shouted at the explosion of pain in the center of his hand. It was one of the small bones in his palm-- the adrenaline soared to his head and made the room spin. 

Sendak laughed again, louder, and repositioned his foot.

“I will be handsomely rewarded for your capture. The most famed Galra general, who fell from grace only to claw his way back from dishonor.”

The pressure increase was faster this time and within seconds another bone was snapping-- his thumb-- and his yell ricocheted off the walls. His head was full of static as Sendak once again moved his foot. Keith rested the visor of his helmet against the floor and tried to breathe. 

“I wonder what the Emperor will do with the rest of you.”

_ Snap  _ went another bone and all Keith could manage was a pitiful whimper mixed with a sob. Salt touched his lip. He was crying already. 

“He will kill the Princess for sure, and the Champion will return to the pits,”  _ snap,  _ “But what of the rest of you?”

_ Crrrrrrrrrrrrrunch.  _ That time he wailed, unable to hold in the cries from the burning breaks. Even if he could reach his bayard now he wouldn’t be able to hold it. A dozen yards away Shiro stirred. 

“I simply cannot wait to know.” With a wicked grin Sendak reared back and Keith barely had time to brace himself before Sendak was stomping on all of his broken fingers.

Keith screamed until his voice broke. Then it crumbled into sick sobs, black spotting over his vision as his body tried to make him pass out just to make the pain stop. His left hand scrambled at his side. 

For a moment Sendak stayed there, grinding his heel down and chortling at Keith’s pitiful whines. Somewhere far away someone was begging for Sendak to stop, maybe Shiro, but the Galra wasn’t paying any attention. He finally took his foot away only to kneel over Keith, knees on either side of his torso.

Keith’s helmet was pulled from his head. Sendak’s clawed hand descended into his hair and wrenched his head back into a neck-aching angle, leaning down to murmur something. The words never got a chance to escape. 

Keith had gotten his good hand around the hilt of his knife. 

Using Sendak’s grip on his hair as leverage made pain ripple over his scalp like a starburst, but it was nothing compared to the wreck of his hand. In the space of a blink Keith pulled himself up and whipped around, and then the knife was in Sendak’s throat to the hilt, and the Galra was staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. Both of them crashed to the floor, Sendak half off of Keith with one leg over his sides, while Keith curled protectively around his mangled hand.

He drifted.

It could’ve been a few seconds or a few hours before he felt the vibrations in the floor under his cheek indicating footsteps. He peeled his eyes open (when had he closed them?) and found a bridge full of activity. Allura had woken and was tending to Pidge. Hunk and Coran were back with the crystal and Hunk was already scooping up Lance to take him to the infirmary. Coran had unbound Shiro, and based on his gestures was trying to get him to sit still, but Shiro wasn’t. Instead Shiro was… Shiro was…

Shiro was pulling Keith into his lap. His breath heaved against Keith’s shoulder and tears splattered on his armor. Not much was clear in the post-adrenaline haze, but he could recognize that Shiro was upset. He didn’t want Shiro to be upset.

“‘M ok, Shiro,” he mumbled. You know, like a liar. It only made Shiro cry harder.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he was gasping, over and over, and Keith wasn’t quite there enough to deny the apologies. 

Then Coran was there, pulling both of them to their unsteady feet.

“Come along you two, off to the pods now.”

Keith cradled his hand to his chest and let Shiro wrap an arm around his middle. Shiro wasn’t too steady either, but he let him have this small act of comfort. 

Coran pushed the two of them onto a cot in the infirmary, telling them to stay put while he and Allura hooked up the new crystal. Pidge was awake and perched next to Hunk while he fussed over Lance.

Keith let his head fall onto Shiro’s armored shoulder. His hand throbbed against his chest plate but he didn’t look at it-- he didn’t need to see his broken fingers hanging at all the wrong angles. 

“I killed him,” he whispered to Shiro, who turned to stone under him. “Don’t be mad.”

Shiro took a deep, shuddering breath. 

“I’m not mad. I’m just sorry I dragged you into this.”

Keith grunted unhappily at that. “You didn’t. I chose.”

Shiro’s arm tightening around him was the only response. 


End file.
